"All right, but you'd better brace yourself." Alex shouted something to his left and then turned to face Jos. "Here he is Jos." And Jos stared with wide eyes and an open mouth at the ethereal form in front of him. "This my friend, is Dale."

"But...but you're a...a ghost!"

After Jos got over the initial shock of finding that his savior was a spirit, he began to think that the whole scene was rather surreal. Seeing Dale's ghost in broad daylight wasn't very frightening at all. Jos, of course, didn't know anything about Dale or how he had died. Among the company Alex alone had known Dale before his death and even then they had little interaction. Because of this, there were many questions. All of which Dale patiently answered.

"...And that's how I came to be trapped in Reno's sword." Dale finished.

"Yeah," said Walf. "He was in there the whole time, helping me when I fought the knight and who knows when else."

Jos starred at Dale with wide eyes and a blank expression on his face.

"You're afraid of me aren't you?" Dale continued. "That's all right. It means that you have a right sense of good and evil, for while you needn't fear me, the curse that binds me is indeed evil. You see, I am trapped. Doomed to remain like this, on the edge of existence forever. Neither living in the light, nor resting in death. But if I can help someone like you Jos, or like Walf here, then maybe I'm not as cursed as you think."

At that moment there was a rustling of leaves at the edge of the village and out stepped Logon bearing a deer on his shoulders.

Above the capitol city, a hawk was flying. High in the air he circled, peering down on the yellow castle. It was Griffin and he had finally found his master. Hearing Gib's cry, the hawk flew down to him where he lay, taken with sorrow on the castle floor.

Gib was sleeping. With everything he had been through, sleep was very welcome. Gart was dead and all of Gib's allies were gone. He was alone and without a friend to help him. But sleep was there. Sleep was there to take him away from the trials of life and give him rest, if even for a moment.

When Gib awoke, it was night time. Starlight was shining through the holes in the battered wall of the castle.

"Ouch!" Gib cried. Something was pulling on his hair. Raising himself Gib recognized the form of a hawk in front of him."Griffin?" he asked. "Oh, it's good to see you my friend."

The bird cocked its head and chirped quietly, hopping back and forth on the castle floor. Gib starred at Griffin. The hawk was obviously trying to say something but Gib was having a hard time understanding. Sighing, he spoke again.

"I've forgotten a lot, Griffin. I'm sorry. But I learned your tongue once and I think I can do it again. Come on Griffin, lets go home."

And so Gib left the Orion in the dead of night and when the allied forces searched the city, they found the spirit box, but not the man who opened it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just inside the border of Classic lego land there is a small clearing that once to belonged to a village. The town had suffered a sad fate not long before, when a detachment of red cross knights burned it to the ground. That was several days ago however, and the smoke from that blaze had long ceased the roll heavenward.

Now there was a new trail of smoke, and with it came the sweet smell of roasted venison.

"Mmmmm," said Logon, swallowing a piece of the roasted deer. "Now, this is good eating!"

"No kidding!" said Alex as he laid down a raw piece for Urgun.

Walf nodded his agreement, but commented. "Didn't you say you had some news Logon?"

"Oh, yes" Logon replied. "I had nearly forgotten. Now this may change our plans some so hang on. While I was on the hunt, I happened upon a traveler who was on his way south from the capitol city."

"What did you learn?" said Walf, interrupting.

"Quiet, Walf." Dale said from inside the sword. He had no need of food, but was still eager to hear the news.

"Well," said Logon continuing. "The first thing I learned was that BloodVaine is dead and that the war is over."

"What war?" Jos, inquired.

"I'm getting there. I'm getting there. Now, you know about the attack on Orion of course because you were there Jos, and Alex and I know about the great fire for the same reason. However, what you may not realize is that those attacks were only part of a larger war which Bloodvaine was waging on the whole of Dametreos. Even those knights we encountered were only a part of his army. Anyhow, it seems that he's been defeated now in some big battle at the capitol."

"The capitol?" Walf said. "Wasn't that where the big blast came from?"

"Yes, actually the man explained that too. He said that it came form an airship or something. Anyway, he also explained what was happening in Black Knight land and why they blew the golden horn. Turns out that that they were under attack from Black Falcons. Unfortunately I've arrived too late to be of any help. The falcons were driven back not long ago. However, this may be better anyway. You see I really didn't want to go back. Not before my quest was finished."

"Your quest?" said Alex, confused. "You never told us about this."

Logon sighed. "Yes, well... why did you think I was at the Drullen Bell? Ah, it is an old quest of mine. I've been about it for more then a year. It's a quest, well... for a man's blood. About this time, last year, I set out from the Black Knight capitol with 11 men following me. We where supposed to hunt down a man called 'The Lone Ranger'."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gib stood at the border of the neverwood with a smile was on his face. Never had a group of trees looked so inviting.

"I'm home." he said, stepping into the forest.

But something was wrong. Gib couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew that something was missing. The woods were restless. Gib could tell. The trees themselves seemed darker. Something had made the forest angry and it was growing out of control.

"How now, earth of the neverwood? What force has returned you to your wild nature? Will you still obey me? Will you still recognize me as your master?"

Gib turned to Griffin. The hawk was trying to tell him something again, but what?

"What do you think, Griffin? Am I no longer the lord of the neverwood?" There it was again. Something nagging him that he couln't quite remember. The hermit sat down and closed his eyes, seaching for what he couldn't remember. Then, he had it!

"Grizzle!" Gib shouted. "Where's Grizzle?" Griffin continued to dance back and forth, trying to comunicate. "Something has happened to Grizzle? That's what you're trying to tell me right?"

Now Gib remembered. Jackal was gone too. He would still be with the bulls. "I hope he's still with the bulls." Gib thought. He hated to think that the wolf had been left on the island or something. Gib was torn. he want'ed to find Grizzle and Jackal, but if he left now, who knew what would become of the neverwood.

Finnaly he decided. Something was amis in the neverwood and he needed to fix it. And so, Gib coniued into the trees. Once he had felt safe in the neverwood, but not now. Now the forest was against him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The Lone Ranger?" Alex questioned. "Who's he? And why are you hunting him?"

"He is an evil man and for that reason I am hunting him. He killed King Sirion's father while he still had the crown on his head. The Black Knights have spent years looking for him. That was 30 years ago, and after seeing him again in our country Sirion ordered 12 men be sent out to find him."

"What happened to the twelve men?" Dale asked.

"We met him once and he killed all 11 men but me. Since then I've been tracking him down on my own. I've traveled far and lost many friends, but I eventually came to the Drullen Bell keep where I joined up with you. I dare not show myself in my fathers eyes before killing this evil man."

"No Jos. As long as the threat to my country has been removed, I'd rather not. As a matter of fact, I believe that our best course will be to head to Orion. The traveler said that the city was being rebuilt. I assume that you and Walf will want to return there. Alex, you wanted to go there all along and as for me, I can see no better place to resume my search."

"There is the difficulty of Jos's condition to think about." Dale piped up. "He's in no shape to travel."

"We still have the horse from the battle." Walf suggested. "Maybe we could make some kind of liter."

"Good idea Walf." said Logon smiling. "Then we're all in agreement. To the capitol eh, for the promise of a new path."

"To the capitol," Jos repeated. "To burry our countrymen."

Walf nodded sadly. "Or our parents."

"You can take me as well" Dale added. "I have a feeling that there we will all find what we seek."

But Alex was silent thinking of Aros and his brother.

"A battle at the golden city." he thought. "And what of my friends? If BloodVaine is dead then what about them?"

Pushing back his fears for his friends Alex stood and said. "All right then, lets go."

The Green Knight wrote:Finnaly Gib decided. Something was amis in the neverwood and he needed to fix it. And so, Gib coniued into the trees. Once he had felt safe in the neverwood, but not now. Now the forest was against him.

The Neverwood

Gib made his way through the dense trees, observing the growth around him. Something felt very wrong. The ancient forest seemed dead, for no birds sang in the trees and he could find no fresh droppings of any animal. Ferns were sagging as if under a great weight, and the trees seemed withered. The deeper Gib forged into the Neverwood, the grimmer he became. His home had been razed, it was a shadow of what is had been. The Neverwood had turned into a dead wood.

The first sign of life Gib discovered seemed more out of place than the lack of animals. It was a curved pieces of transparent material, smudged with smoke and half buried in the dirt. Gib picked is up and examined it closely. Odd, what was a piece of glass doing in the Neverwood? A traveling merchant could have dropped the trinket...but no one would be fool enough to take a shortcut through the Neverwood. However someone HAD some through this way recently, quite recently. Gib crouched low and examined the churned-up earth. The prints of a human to be sure, with worn down shoes or boots, had press deeply into the dirt. It was also obvious the wearer of those footwear had been drunk, befuddled or on drugs, for the steps were haphazard and chaotic.

Gib followed the tracks, noting the other human disturbances; broken foliage, small overturned stones, even a fragment of thread. Gib continued, bent double, tracing the footsteps until a cool breeze suddenly caressed his cheek. He straightened, surprised to find the dusty remains of the Fire Breathing Fortress laying placidly in the distance. He had completely passed through the Neverwood from the Classic LEGOlanders to the Dragon Masters in one day, and his body, suddenly aware of the fact that it had endured such a journey snarled for nourishment. However Gib's curiosity overcame his hunger and he edged out of the Neverwood and into the open rocky plains of the Dragon Masters.

The land was desolate and dead, just like the Neverwood. Save the for the fast-fading tracks, there was no sign of human life, and animal life was non-exsistant. Gib continued toward the rubbled of the once-mighty fortress now, even though the rocks and gravel had managed to swallow up the last of the footprints. Gib touched the stones as he walked pas them, feeling their grit and and sand. This was certainly a place of death. The stench of decaying flesh slipped into his nostrils, and he wrinkled his nose as he turned a corner.

Lord Void was sitting on a overturned stone, swinging his legs and grinning foolishly at the rotting remains of three Dragon Masters. When Gib could not come up with words quick enough the ousted Dragon Master wizard continued matter-of-factly, "They're BloodVaine's men, I suppose, killed when the son of a megabloks blew up my fortress...not very appetizing, are they?"

"You-- weren't going to -- eat them, were you??" gasped Gib, revolted and still trying to recover from shook.

"Eat them, me?" Lord Void looked only a little put out, "I'm not that hungry yet...but almost. No, I was hoping some tyco vulture would land and take a bite so I could conk him and eat him in turn."

Lord Void held up a long black staff, one end of it splintered.

Gib looked at it curiously. This scene wasn't right, Lord Void was acting totally unlike the aloof, snide wizard he remembered. He opened his mouth to speak but Lord Void interrupted.

"Yes, I see you recognize my little bonking tool, Gib. This was, before that shifty-brick battle, my all-mighty, kick-intellebirx, one-to-rule-them-all magical staff. Hm, tyco use it has now..."

Lord Void cradled the shattered staff and then peered at Gib. "You're even quieter then last I saw your ugly mug."

This was absolutely not Lord Void. "What happened to you?" asked Gib, skirting the corpses to stand next to Lord Void. Lord Void sniffed imperiously and said honestly and with a touch of his old mode of speech, "Gib, I'm magic-less. You tell that to any other soul and I'll rip you lungs out, without magic or not. I suppose when I foolhardily crashed my precious airship into the Dawn of the Ages and ignited the crystal within that the burst of pure, raw, overwhelming Mana just wiped me clean, like a slate. I cannot preform magic any more than your pet bird. I was a tyco fool to ever involve myself in this megabloks war......." Lord Void turned to Gib, "BloodVaine will be pleased, he won't have to drain the Mana to kill me now."

The Old Man knew that something was amiss. The war was over, BloodVaine was dead, and Dametreos was returning to peace.

But there was something amis in Talistrand.

First, there was that ninja, garbed in the robes of a Talistrani servant, found dead in the halls, without a mark on him.

Was it a sign that the Shogun was getting involved in world politics? A lingering bit of trouble created by BloodVaine? Something completely new?

The Old Man didn't know, and the Old Man didn't care. He simply knew that the man's death was not accidental. It had all the hallmarks of a magical death, and there were only two people in all Dametreos who could have done it. Himself, and the Sorceror-king.

The Sorceror-king was ready to leave Talistrand. It was apparent in his extreme irritability. However, the Sorceror-king couldn't just march into the Old Ruins alone. The ruins were guarded by an ancient magic, and to enter it alone, you must be in a party of at least three.

The Sorceror-king was bound, as he was, to wait until his companions arrived.

In the meantime, things were getting uncomfortable in Talistran Palace.

Lord_Of_The_LEGO wrote:Lord Void turned to Gib, "BloodVaine will be pleased, he won't have to drain the Mana to kill me now."

"He won't kill you." replied Gib simply, "BloodVaine's dead."

Lord Void looked at Gib in shock. He was speechless for a moment before collapsing into a fit of laughter. "So they finally got him did they? Three cheers for the fright knights and their spirit box. Whoohoo! So long, you intelebrix BloodVaine!!!!" The former wizard continued to laugh until his sides were so sore that he could hardly breath.

Gib looked around him. The stones and boulders of what used to be the Fire Breathing fortress were scattered far and wide, in every direction. Gib didn't know what had caused the destruction, but then, he didn't care. Gib didn't care about any of it. He turned to leave but Lord Void stopped him.

"Hang on!" he cried. "Where are you going? You can't just leave."

"Can't I? And why, prey tell, should I stay with you? The last time I went with you I was nearly killed. I spent an eternity of torture as the puppet of a demon and what did I get for it? I lost Grizzle. I lost Jackal. I lost... I lost Gart." Gib sighed. "And now the neverwood is changing on top of it all. Every piece of good ground in there is dying and I can't even understand Griffin. I have nothing left sir, and frankly, if I never see you again, it will be too soon."

"Well excuse me Mr. high-and mighty, but you're not the only one who's suffered in this war. You really can't fathom what the loss of my powers mean, can you? Without my magic I will age normally. My life expectancy has been cut by thousands of years!"

"Yeah," said Gib "well welcome to the real world, Void. Do you really expect me to feel sorry for you? I think we all know what you would do if you still had your power. You've lost this fortress but you would rebuild. It wouldn't be long before the people of this land were once again harassed by your evil schemes. If you ask me, your loss is a blessing to every peace loving person in Dametreos. This war hasn't changed much, I know that. The hurting factions will rebuild as their heros and champions fight for peace. As for me, I will scape together whats left of my life and carry on alone, as is the way of hermits. But if your lack of power keeps you from harming one person, then something certainly has changed and there is more to celibrate then BloodVaine's death."

Lord Void glared at Gib. He may have lost his magic but he still held his pride and knew sarcasim when he saw it. Lord Void knew that he couldn't stop Gib if he wanted to sleep there Gib knew it too. The Dragon Master softened, however, when Gib produced some food from his pack. It was only a few dried nuts and they were crushed and stale at that. Still it was more then nothing and the two men ate greedily. Later, Griffin surprised them by bringing in a hare and giving Gib another reason to start a fire. The two men ate in silence for a while, each thinking their own thoughts. I can't say what Lord Void was thinking but Gib's thoughts were mostly on Grizzle. Something had happened to the bear and he didn't know what. If only he could understand Grffin.

The Green Knight wrote:Later, Griffin surprised them by bringing in a hare and giving Gib another reason to start a fire. The two men ate in silence for a while, each thinking their own thoughts.

After ten minutes Lord Void broke the silence abruptly.

"Gib, you're right...tyco it...this war has changed both of us in many ways...both improving and harming us...I probably would go back to the good old days of prison camps for the poor and palaces for the rich."

Pause.

Gib spoke hesitatingly. "Lord Void, if you're even a Lord anymore, I admit I have never trusted you, not even now...but you kept your word to me and Marus, where ever he may be. Why?"

Lord Void shifted. "Dragon Masters, thought perhaps lacking in other places, always fulfill an oath. I swore that oath for selfish reasons, so that I might have a chance of surviving, but that oath became much more. With that oath I involved myself in the largest recorded battle ever, and in the process destroyed the last two remaining airships in Dametreos and every shred of magic I possessed. I fulfilled that oath, Gib, for a Dragon Master always fulfills his oath."

Long pause. Lord Void continued. "Do I regret it? I do not know, I'll probably never know."

Very long pause.

"So...did you happen to hear the fate of Caimlin and the rest of the Dragon Masters."

Gib glared in annoyance. "I'm concerned only about the Neverwood, and Grizzle and Jackel."

"The Neverwood rests on Dragon Master territory. I could burn it down in an instant."

"With what, a stick from this fire??" Gib snorted.

"Ah...tyco." Lord Void sat up. "Then I guess I'll be off tomorrow to Classic LEGOland. I won't bother to ask you if you are coming."